Top 8 Profile: Nicolas Olivieri

Ben Bleiweiss

No stranger to the Tour, Olivieri has played in 16 Pro events over the past few years. As a member of Team Les Plus Class (along with members Gabriel Nassif and Amiel Tenenbaum), he placed as a runner-up at Team Pro Tour New York in 2001. He has also finished in the top 32 at Pro Tour Chicago 2001, and top 16 at Euros in 2000.

Currently residing in Mont Pellier, Olivieri is one of four French players to break into the top 8 of Osaka. He brought a Black/Blue beatdown deck (sans Psychatog!), which featured the game-winning technology of Braids, Cabal Minion. The 26 year old student used Ichorid all weekend long to surprise and amaze.

To add even more to his accomplishments, Les Plus Class played on Thursday at the Masters series, where they finished as semi-finalists, earning Olivieri a tidy sum coming into the last day of Pro Tour competition. Will he win the whole shebang and cause his wallet to overflow with the joy of monetary prizes? With a top four and top eight so far, one can only think that while money cannot buy happiness, this weekend's earnings can definitely bring Nicolas and France a large amount of pride.